Decades-Old Data Reveals Exciting New Candidate for Planet Nine: What Astronomers Discovered

A team of astronomers has potentially identified a candidate for the elusive Planet Nine, a hypothetical planet that some believe exists far beyond Neptune’s orbit. This follows a 2016 study by two Caltech astronomers who suggested that several objects in the Kuiper Belt were clustered in a way that implied they were influenced by something massive—likely a planet. Since then, astronomers like Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown have searched for this mysterious world.

Planet Nine could provide answers to several cosmic puzzles, like the unusual tilt of some Kuiper Belt objects and the behavior of retrograde-orbiting objects. According to NASA, “It could also make our Solar System seem a little more ‘normal.’” They note that “surveys of planets around other stars have found that the most common types are ‘super Earths’—larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune. No such planets exist in our Solar System, but Planet Nine could fill that gap.”

Currently, we’ve discovered thousands of exoplanets—planets orbiting other stars—but identifying planets in our own Solar System is more complex. For instance, we can detect exoplanets by observing their gravitational effects on their stars or noticing light dimming. In our Solar System, we only see Venus and Mercury transiting in front of the Sun. Larger planets like Jupiter and Saturn reflect sunlight, while Neptune was discovered by its gravitational influence on Uranus.

If Planet Nine exists, it’s estimated to be between 500 and 700 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. To put this in perspective, one AU is the distance from Earth to the Sun. At such vast distances, even a large planet may not reflect enough sunlight to be visible from Earth.

Recently, a research team analyzed decades of data from two infrared sky surveys to find evidence of Planet Nine. They focused on a distance range of 500 to 700 AU and narrowed their initial list of 13 candidates down to one promising object. Their method involved looking for slow-moving objects, which would indicate they’re positioned far beyond Neptune.

“We found one strong candidate where the IRAS source didn’t align with the AKARI image, with an expected angular separation,” said the team. This suggests they have found an object that could warrant further investigation, although more data is necessary to confirm if it’s truly Planet Nine.

The allure of Planet Nine continues to capture imaginations. Recent social media trends indicate growing public interest in the idea of a ninth planet. The mysterious nature of the cosmos fuels discussions, memes, and even debates among enthusiasts and scientists alike.

For more details, you can read the study on the pre-print server arXiv.

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